Towers Watson: smart beta has lift-off

Investors are piling into alternative indices, dubbed “smart beta” by consultant Towers Watson. In 2013, its clients invested $10.7 billion in the sector, equivalent to nearly 50% of sums managed at the start of the year and up from $5 billion in 2012. Towers Watson’s institutional clients globally have now put $32.3 billion into its smart beta strategies.